The Sun On A New World
Where Everyone Knows Your Name "Olivia!" A man across the bar called. "How about one more drink 'round this way!?" Olivia let out a very womanly laugh, making her way to a different table carrying varying items from food to drink. "I'm sorry Jonas, you've built up your tab for the entire month. And you know how Vivian gets about money!" The man called Jonas growled. "Damn silver-haired woman. The money goes straight to Jason anyway, he manages it, why does he leave her in charge of collecting?" Vivian stretched her arms out, yawning like a cat. "Look. It was either me or Iris. Iris is illiterate. I'm not. Not to mention Iris is clinically off her rocker. Do the math. Or rather, don't...since I can't either." Truth be told, she was never really that smart, but she didn't really give a damn about that when she had all these good friends around her. The entire bar broke into laughter. "Vivian, you should go back to school!" One of the people in attendance yelled from across the bar. He then quickly ducked as Vivian chucked a mug at his head. It shattered against the wall, clattering to the ground. The Guild had grown much more popular during the past two months since the Guild's altercation with the Magic Council and the death of Barakiel. In the whole of the Guild Council, Akatsuki Guild was the most popular in terms of the bar, and steadily racking up in membership. "....a foreign fella I met down at the other pub..." "....a genuine dragon egg you say?" They got the oddest of guests, people who delt in strange trades were just one of them. "So where is Jason anyway?" Jonas asked, curiosity getting the better of him. "Oh, he's upstairs in his room with the twins." Olivia replied, smirking. This drew a large amount of laughter from everyone present, they all knew what being alone with the twins usually led to. Vivian crossed her arms; she was definitely pissed off, to the point that as Iris wasn't paying attention, she heard a dull sound behind her, and as she turned around timidly...Vivian, who was full with rage made a crack on a support beam with her fist. Iris muttered to herself, "...S-Scary. I'mma act like I didn't see that..." "Is something the matter, Vivian?" A young woman walked over to her, and looked at the cracked support beam. "It's not exactly a good thing to damage our guild you know." This was Molly Hale, one of the newest people who joined over the past two months. "I'd heard it was built specifically for this guild. Makes you a bit ungrateful." Vivian shot Molly an irked glare. "Shush up, you...!" She practically snapped before storming off. Iris shrugged before ever-so-casually informing Molly, "It's just her time of the month. Don't worry about it." Returning to whistling, Iris resumed whatever she was doing. Molly followed after Vivian, almost drifting like a specter. "I-I'm sorry Vivian...I'm new here, I guess I shouldn't have said anything...." She both looked and sounded extremely hurt by Vivian's angry reaction. Iris could only look on at this spectacle and just sigh. Vivian was always Vivian, there was no doubt about it. "...Somethings will never change. I'm pretty sure of that..." Just like that, it was impossible to get back lost time, as she knew first hand. Vivian had her hands on her hips, still pretty pissed off about the whole ordeal. While she had agreed to the whole harem plan, she couldn't help but feel jealous. As if on cue, Jason was walking down from one of the upper floors, looking slight disheveled and the twins clinging to either arm. "HEY JASON! GOT LUCKY, YA BASTARD!?" Jonas called from across the bar, and the raucous laughter occurred again. Jason looked over. "Oh, Jonas, you're back. Have you decided to actually join us?" "No way, joinin' Akatsuki, the number one guild the Council's got it out for?" He waggled a finger in Jason's direction. "I ain't got a death wish. Besides, my guild suits me just fine. I'm only here for the booze and good company!" Iris just chuckled at this sight. "Oh, by the way, Jason. Vivian just ran off faster than a fat guy running to a fast food joint. I guess you should check it out. I mean, she has been a bit on edge ever since more female members have joined- try and set her straight, why don't you?' She immediately returned to cleaning. The twins quickly separated themselves from Jason. "...Ringo, maybe we should try and do some work around here?" Ringo glanced up, her dull eyes showing absolutely no trace of emotion. "...Agreed." Ichigo began flirting around like a bumblebee- she suddenly questioned Iris, "Um...if Jason is a female, I would really be confused as to how to react. If two females are to blow the same clarinet...and kind of kiss that way...it would have been just beautiful and elegant and worthy of a place in my permanent memory. Should I say dreamy or unrivaled? Anyway, that's how I would feel!" Iris looked at her as if she were a cokehead. Ringo replied with a mere whisper, "...So erotic." Olivia chuckled. "Jason, you sure attract the weird ones." Jason nodded. "I'll agree. Now, should I actually go and talk Vivian down?" He didn't seem inclined. "She'll get over it, I'm assuming. Also, where's Wendy?" Olivia sighed. "Jason, Jason, Jason. Firstly, Wendy left with Chelia and Len, she's taking on a mission with them at the moment. Secondly, yes, you should go have a talk with her. I personally don't have anything against the harem myself...." She pulled Jason's head in close to her cleavage before letting him go, chuckling. "...but you should at least talk down the ones who do." Iris seemed pretty miffed that Jason had to consult somebody about it. She was actually tempted to punch him in-between the eyes, but she restrained herself. "...Well, what are you waiting for? Get the hell out there and look for her, you idiot!" This was probably the first time she'd ever insulted him, though the shrunk back immediately afterwards. "...Sorry. I just...I don't think Viv's all too well. I think she's in danger, Jason..." Ichigo floated around for a bit, "So I guess Iris loves Vivian~" Iris blushed and stuttered a bit. "I do n-not! We've been best friends since preschool...If something had happened to her and somebody could prevent it but didn't, then I'd hunt them down and hurt them reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal bad." "...Lesbians..." Ringo murmured. "...I can see it..." She looked at Iris. "...do you like girls?" Jason placed a finger on her lips. "Save that discussion for later. I'll go find her." He exited the Guild, vanishing on the spot and heading to the roof. As he expected, Vivian had climbed up to the roof of the building, sitting on the edge looking over the northern Guild Haven. "What's troubling you?" Vivian didn't even bother to turn around, just letting out a nonchalant, "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Of course, she was lying straight to his face here. She ground her teeth, before basically blurting out, "...I really don't like this harem idea. I mean, with it, you'll pay less attention to one particular mate." Of course she was referring to herself. She twitched for a second, before- SCHWING! Vivian leapt back and defended herself with her magical power...from a key-shaped sword that shot down like a meteor towards the two. Vivian's senses perked up as she glanced into the sky- in the direction from which that key flew, somebody was standing high and far off. "..." Far away, standing composed on top of a tree. Dressed in a rather gaudy, yet boyish outfit; clenched in their hand, a large, nail-like sword. Emotionless, pale eyes. Blue, sky-blue eyes. She could only make out the silhouette, but this person seemed vaguely familiar. "...Vritra!" They seemed rather angered by Vivian's mere presence; as if they were familiar with each other. Jason wasted no time in making a wide jump, appearing right in front of the person standing on the tree branch. "...I see, so it's a woman. No matter." He quickly gripped her wrist, turning in mid-air and throwing the girl straight down at the roof of the building. Being made of stronger material than one would think, it easily withstood the impact of an average adult woman as Jason landed neatly back on the roof. He walked over to the figure of the women he'd thrown, looking mildly irritated. "Your reason for almost attempting to kill someone precious to me was?" The woman gritted her teeth and snapped at him, "...Silence, fool! You don't know that this person holds inside of her--!" She seemed pretty pissed off as she wiped the blood off her mouth. "...Don't touch me with your filthy hands, you cretin...! Now, get the hell out of my way so I can end this now." She stood to her feet and attempted to push him away, finding him a mere annoyance at best. "You'd be surprised how much I'm aware of." Jason replied bitterly, kicking her feet so that she fell over again. "But the point you seem to be missing is that Vivian is mine. Keep acting in this manner, I'll end your life here." Vivian blushed at Jason's statement- now, she was completely aware of everything. He really did love her a lot, after all. "Jason, I..." She wasn't sure what to say in such a tense situation like this. The azure haired woman turned to Vivian, growling, "I've been looking for you. You're the Tyrant Dragon." She pointed at her. "Your actions will condemn us all...!" Vivian could do nothing but mutter, "...Who are you?" The woman began to exposiate; "My name is Gaikou Ryuusei. And for Earth Land's future, I will destroy you!" "You're in the wrong place then." Jason replied, grabbing the woman by the scruff of her collar and throwing her lightly away from Vivian. "This is the Guild Haven, an alternate dimension that exists alongside, but separately, from Earth Land." His eyes narrowed after he finished this sentence. "And you will be destroying no one today." Gaikou shot Jason a fierce glare of defiance; it seemed as if a phoenix were behind her- no, this was the effect of her magical aura! "...Get out of my way. I do not want to kill you too." Her words were as sharp and cold as a blade; she withdrew a unique looking sword from the sheath attached to her side. "Last chance here. Take it or suffer the consequences, boy." Jason immediately stood in front of Vivian, and summoned his giant cleaver, Gehaburn. "You don't seem to be heeding my warning." He lifted Gehaburn over his shoulder. "Vivian is mine. I will not hesitate to the cut the life from your body if you advance." Gaikou showed absolutely no fear from Jason's words; in fact, she found him similar to a fly buzzing around her ears. "...Tch. Damn fool, that was your last warning. Now, I'll be the one to decide your fate." Vivian concentrated all her nerves, not even letting her sights off Gaikou's movements- who, much to their shock, was standing still. This battle can't be avoided, and because she knew this, she wouldn't recklessly attack, but would choose to fight back at the right time and deliver the decisive blow. But then, from the side. "Gh!?" Gaikou was already beside Vivian. She vanished; Gaikou's speed could only be seen as such. Sneaking into Vivian's arms, Gaikou swung her elbow to attack Vivian's face from the side. Not even a single sound. It was all in a blink of an eye; Vivian was sent flying through the pedestrian walkway and onto the road. Finally, *BOOM!!* a sound reached Jason's ear. The sound came from within the shadow of Gaikou dragging her feet. Like a huge tiger shark leaping out of the surface of the sea, a huge piece of metal came out from within Gaikou's shadow. A 5m-long unknown object; in shape, it looked like a lance that a European knight uses, but that was wrong. It was like a huge umbrella created from a steel structure used to construct a building. "Oryaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Gaikou screamed fervently and swung her blade down; with this heavy and blunt sound, the entire area shook about due to the impact. The screws that hold the guild roof down broke and make lots of noises. The blue lights used to light the place up lost their glow unnaturally. Like a meteor colliding with the sea, with Gaikou's sword as the center, a large amount of concrete debris flew all over the place, and some of them shot towards Jason's body- though miraculously, the guild was still in one piece. "MASTER!!!" Before Jason could even react, a childish voice called out and a large screen erupted in front of Jason, blocking the debris heading his way before he even lifted his own finger. "Archive?" Jason noted as the debris hit the screen. He turned and saw Len standing on the tree that Gaikou had been on not find seconds around, his head outstretched and looking slightly angry. Floating next to him was a keyboard, which he began to rapidly type one-handedly on, before ropes that seemed to be made of the same material as the screen entwined themselves around Gaikou, laced with a sleeping agent that seeped into the pores. She quickly collapsed, and Len ran over to Jason, dispelling his Archive. "Are you ok Master??" He asked, seemingly concerned. His cheeks were notably a rosy red. "I'm fine. Thanks Len." He looked around. "She did a number on the roof...where's Wendy and Chelia?" "I had them go inside. I didn't want them around when I fought that woman off." Len replied, knowing Jason would have wanted that. "Good." Jason jumped off the roof, skidding down into the street and picking up Vivian's limp form, which had crashed into the road. Naturally people had stopped to stare, but remembering this was a Guild, ignored it. "Are you alright?" Jason asked, checking the bruises on her body from impact. Vivian slowly opened her eyes; she appeared to have a rather hurt expression on her face. She managed to pick herself up off the ground, breathing heavily. "....Haaaa-aaah, I'm fine..." She looked over at Gaikou, who seemed to be fast asleep by now. "...But what about her? That's the big question." She glanced away with a fiery blush on her face. "....Thank you, Jason. For now and before." Jason flashed her a rare smile. "Your fears are always groundless. It seems impossible, but I have equal affection for all of you." He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in close. Len hoisted her over his shoulder, jumping down from the roof. He looked slightly miffed at the closeness of the two. Jason looked over at the woman over Len's shoulders. "I'd suggest killing her, personally." He muttered, almost to himself. Len gasped. "M-Master! We can't just kill her!" This boy was big on the preserving life thing. Vivian seemed concerned as well. "...Whether or not she's an enemy, I'm sure she has her reasons. Why don't we just take her in for questioning?" Even though Gaikou had almost killed her a few minutes ago, she didn't really care- but she did want to find out more about what Gaikou was implying. Jason frowned. Interrogating Gaikou would be best, but Vivian would find out what they are trying to hide from her, that sealed deep within her was the power and soul of Vritra, the Legendary Tryant Dragon. They'd kept this from her for two months since the Council incident. Was this one girl going to ruin all? "You want to interrogate her?" Jason repeated slowly. ---- "Ungh..." Gaikou slowly opened her eyes; everything was in such a daze that she couldn't tell left from right. "...Alright, what the flying flip just happened--" she felt cold; unnaturally cold at that. Well, mostly around her thighs and arms. She quickly glanced down- and noticed that she was basically stripped bare; wearing her regular lacy black underwear, complete with her thigh-high socks still on and a garterbelt. "...Alright, who's the wise guy...!?" She attempted to struggle, but then realized that she was constricted by a large red ribbon that bound her wrists and ankles together; she was also suspended in mid air. Vivian questioned Iris with a dubious tone, "Was the BDSM really necessary, Iris...?" Iris paused for a moment before replying quickly. "...Yes." Jason groaned. "No, not it wasn't." He replied, cutting the ropes and catching the girl in one-arm as she fell. "Len, can you?" He had Gaikou sit in a chair and Len tossed him his jacket, which he handed over to Gaikou. "Put that on." Gaikou calmly accepted Jason's jacket; swishing it around her slender frame, she sighed, "..Tch. Stupid squirrel." She dusted her hands off, paying no attention to the fact that aside from Jason's jacket, she was practically half-naked. "...Tch, lemme go now. I need to finish off that woman-" she paused and suddenly retracted her words. "...Either way, I'm sure you know who I am, right?" she was really arrogant about her position. "...Right?" Chirping crickets. "You're Gaikou Ryuusei." Len stated. He was opening his Archive Magic, and wearing glasses that made him look really cute. Showing off for Jason, probably. "Age of 19, and one of the most renowned young authors in Fiore. Your writings are very popular, and yet you want to commit murder." Gaikou clicked her tongue in exasperation. "It's good to know that some people have half a brain around here." Gaikou stretched her arms out rather relaxedly. "You do know about the serial killer Sebastian Geil, right?" Iris' ears perked up at Gaikou's words. "Yeah, wasn't he the most infamous killer in Fiore's history...?" Gaikou nodded. "So it seems that you're not a complete idiot, nutso. ...Lesee. This guy is a seriously wanted criminal- so much that the Magic Council has offered a three million jewel reward for his capture-" Vivian butted in, "But we can't-" Gaikou glared at her. "....If I have to talk at the top of my voice, then it means that I am in the company of complete imbesiles." She sighed and continued, "He kills women for their hands, which he has a strange fetish for -it's rumoured that he thinks of the hands as his "girlfriends" and he seems to show no interest in the rest of the body. He is all the more dangerous, as supposedly, his magic leaves no evidence, and he will kill anyone who comes in between him and the normal life he wants to live." Vivian questioned, "...Why do you want to capture him so badly?" Gaikou turned away and immediately began to walk off. "...That's none of your damn business, woman." "Gaikou, you can't walk out there." Jason said, gesturing to her body. "You're wearing only underclothes, and there's a bar out there. A bar with men. Drunk men." Gaikou paused for a moment and turned back. "...On second thought..." She let out an exasperated sigh."...Damn your logic." Sitting down on the nearest chair she could find, Gaikou used her magic to redress herself. "...Look, I don't like you guys, and I'm pretty sure you don't like me-" Iris interrupted, "...But I like you-!" Gaikou clicked her tongue again, "...Correction. I don't like you guys, but that squirrel likes me and I'm pretty sure you guys are suspicious since y'know, but I guess it would be best if we worked together on this one, and then I'll be out of your hair after the killer becomes the killed." "Seems like a plan." Jason replied, nodding. "I have no qualms about teaming up with you for this cause." He paused. "Simply keep away from Vivian. Then I can promise your own safety as well as hers." Gaikou crossed her arms and just brushed Jason off. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." It was clear that while she didn't like it one bit, this whole alliance was neccessary; at least in her mind. Without another word to escape her lips, Gaikou quickly began to walk off, though Iris grabbed her by the hand. "...Tch! Damn squirrel, what the hell do you think you're doing-!" Iris giggled incessantly as she dragged Iris off. "Come on, I'll show you around~!" Vivian couldn't help but look confused at this sight. "...I still don't trust her...Maybe we should find out more about her background..." Len kept rapidly pressing the keyboard, searching the Archive databanks for anything releated to Gaikou. "It's strange...aside from her most basic information, there's nothing there. Like she's not been added to the Magic Archive." Jason frowned. "I can't tell if that's bad or just something that can happen." Vivian crossed her arms. "...Maybe she wiped herself off the records of history or something?" She wasn't sure what to think. This had happened all so suddenly that she didn't knpw what to say. Ichigo questioned, "Yknow, maybe she was a being like the Dark Wizard, or perhaps a flying spaghetti monster, or something like that..." She was completely, utterly wrong. Vivian scratched her head. "...I highly doubt that. She's perfectly human, but the main problem is about her past. Not to mention, that magic of hers seems suspcious; even though we haven't seen it, it just makes me feel rather confused thinking about what it could be. I guess one of us should try and find out more about it." "Whatever the problem is, if the Archive can't find it, she's either not from Earth Land, like Master, or there's something very very wrong about her." Len explained, looking at his screen with poorly masked frustration. "Not from Earth Land...." Jason murmured. "That makes her intriguing." Vivian pressed her finger to her lip, immersed in thought. "...She really is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma..." Ichigo spouted, "...That made absolutely no sense!" Vivian growled at the orange-haired girl. "...It doesn't because you wouldn't get the reference." In any case, Iris was tugging Gaikou around the guild, practically throwing her at people. "...Oi! I'm not a damn hammer, you stupid squirrel...!" "I think she'll fit right in!" Olivia chuckled, looking at this from the bar. She obviously thinking Gaikou was going to join. This woman's appearance was just the beginning...and now the story unfolds. END